Ocean Eyes
by queen-bess-mccord
Summary: Elizabeth gets to the bottom of Henry and his fear of scuba diving. 5.20 one-shot.


**A/N:** Of course I had to write about Henry and scuba diving. May be a mess, maybe not; I wrote in a haste after a tiring day. And I definitely apologize for the lame pun with the title but...c'mon, it's Billie Eilish. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Leave a review and let me know what you think x

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Henry exited the bathroom, smiling as he spotted Elizabeth on their bed under the covers, probably replaying the day's events. He plopped down beside her and pecked her cheek, receiving a grin in return. Returning to the horse farm always made her feel buoyant and at home, especially when it was for an extra special reason this time.

"I'm really proud of you today, babe. You totally nailed that speech today." He ran a hand soothingly up and down her arm. "We're really doing this."

She echoed him. "We're actually really doing this." Then, she bit down on her lower lip tantalizingly. "So...doing that speech really deserves a reward, don't you think?" she teased.

"Okay, y'know what, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I actually got scuba certified years agoー"

She immediately perked up, propping her head on a hand to look at her husband.

He held up his left hand between them, displaying the wedding band that has sat on his ring finger for three decades. "ーto dive into your gorgeous eyes."

She groaned and laid back down. "How did you even get into my pants with those horrible come on lines?"

"We still have three amazing children."

"That we do," she murmured, the corners of her lips turning up. "But baby, what are you really scared about?" She grasped his hands between hers and massaged his fingers. They felt rough, conditioned over the years he'd spent building their family and flipping through countless pages written by his beloved theologians. She loved the feeling of them against hers, familiar and comforting, and she hoped he felt the same way now so he would share whatever was bothering him.

"I read that article ー y'know, the one I was telling you about ー the guy got bitten in the butt and had to take months off to recover. Months!"

She chortled. "Oh my, that must've been really painful. But you can't possibly think I'll buy into that. You don't want me to unleash my CIA analyst skills on you, do you?" she joked, but only half-heartedly.

A hint of vulnerability flashed across his features before settling on sadness. He wasn't quite sure what to say. She watched and waited as he fell quiet, his eyes pleading hers to read his thoughts.

"You can tell me, sweetheart."

He sighed. "I don't know where to start." He pondered for a while more, then rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Remember Tommy?"

The name brought up memories of him curled in her lap, his tears soaking her trousers as she stroked his face. She could only recall how helpless she felt, wishing she could take away his pain just as he took away hers on her parents' anniversary.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"I didn't tell you...but I tried to save him." He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "I ran over to where he...y'know, he went under. But all I could do was watch him struggle. It was so cold and we couldn't reach for him and he was hitting the layer so hard to try and get through. And we couldn't do anything, nothing at all." His voice quivered towards the end. He ran a hand over his face.

"Oh baby…" A pregnant silence fell over the room. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I got over it. Sort of. I went to the Marines after all, it shouldn't have bothered me. Or so I thought."

She leaned in to wrap her arms around him and pulled him close.

"And I'm getting older too. What if I panic and something happens to me in the water?" The words came out in a rush, his breathing hitching and picking up pace. "If it happens, you can't possibly pull me to the surface, I'll be deadweight."

She pulled away slightly and tilted his chin towards her so she could meet his gaze. "Look at me. Breathe." She drew slow, deliberate intakes of air, like how he'd do for her when she started feeling panicky. He struggled to follow the stable rise and fall of her breaths for a bit but eventually managed to calm down, finally joining her in a synchronised rhythm. She felt bad; she didn't think it to be about his childhood friend, although some part of her did wonder.

"Henry, you work out regularly, you're in amazing shape. And nothing will happen, I promise you. That's what the certification is for. To make the whole thing safe and fun for everyone. I'll do it again with you, if that helps. Or if you don't want to do it, y'know what, that's fine too. I just really want to enjoy some time with you, before everything goes crazy around us. As long as I'm with you."

He contemplated backing out for a fraction of a second, but decided against it, knowing how much this vacation meant to her and how it could be their last proper private time together. He knew it was something she had done with her parents when they were still around but stopped when they passed, so he understood why she felt so strongly about it. "No, I understand, let's do this. Doing it with you would help a lot, I would really love that."

"Thank you, babe," she exhaled. Pulling her sleeve over her wrist, she dabbed at the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "And I'm really sorry about Tommy. You shouldn't have had to go through that. Do you wanna talk to Dr. Sherman about it? She could help."

He deliberated for a moment. "Can we keep a rain check on that?"

"Yeah, sure. But don't put it off, okay?"

"Says the person who put it off _sooooo_ much."

She playfully smacked him on the chest and chuckled, glad that he was back to his usual self. "At least I went! Better late than never."

He studied her, her eyes a beautiful sparkling blue, so full of warmth and trust and love. He couldn't be more grateful or prouder that she was beside him than in that moment.

All the staring didn't go unnoticed and blood rushed to her cheeks; she suddenly felt a little self-conscious. "What are you looking at, Mr. Arm Candy?"

"I love you," he said, speaking with a tenderness that melted her insides to a puddle. "And I'm so grateful that I get to go on this adventure with you."

"I kinda love you too. I wouldn't dream of doing it with anyone else." Bending down, she captured his lips in a gentle kiss. He snaked his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body, two puzzle pieces fitting snugly together.

When they broke apart for air, they stayed close, unwilling to move even an inch from each other. "So...we're swimming in the fish toilet?" she grinned excitedly, almost like a kid on Christmas morning.

Oh boy, he really couldn't say no to his wife. "We are swimming in the glorious fish toilet," he confirmed.

She cheered, arms outstretched in a celebratory pose as they laid in a tangle of limbs — certainly not an easy feat — eliciting a laugh from him.

After all, there was nowhere else he would rather be.


End file.
